McNeese visits LSU, rain pushes game back a day
Published 12:42 pm Wednesday, March 9, 2022
- McNeese State shortstop Reid Bourque gets the tag on a leaping Alcorn State pitcher Diego Lopez-Molina Saturday at Cowboy Diamond. (Kirk Meche / Special to the American Press)
Tuesday night’s McNeese State at LSU baseball game was postponed due to rain and will be played at 6:30 p.m. today in Baton Rouge.
LSU (9-3) is ranked No. 6 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball, No. 9 by USA Today and No. 16 by Baseball America.
LSU leads the series 31-12, including last year’s 14-1 win on April 6 in Baton Rouge. The Tigers have won 13 of the last 16 meetings.
“I’m glad we’re home for the next couple of weeks, mostly for the ability to practice and train, maximize that time and be the type of team that we want to be,” said first-year LSU head coach Jay Johnson, whose team lost two of three in last weekend’s Shriners Classic in Minute Maid Park in Houston. “I think this past weekend will help us going forward and help us prepare to do what we need to be successful. I expect to win every game, and we didn’t do that, but I like the fight our team showed all weekend.
“We had some very good performances on the mound, which we’re going to need. Because of the way we’re set up right now, we’re going to have to use a lot of guys. We do have to play better defense, I don’t know any other way to say it, and we’ll continue to work on that.”
The Tigers beat Oklahoma 5-4 in 11 innings in their opener, then lost 6-1 to No. 1 Texas and 9-6 to Baylor.
McNeese (8-4) is coming off a home series loss to No 25 Louisiana Tech. The Cowboys lost the first two games but won Sunday’s finale 5-2.
The Cowboys are hitting .273 with 17 doubles, eight triples, nine home runs and 27 stolen bases in 28 attempts. Tré Obreon (.395, 2 HR, 11 RBIs) leads the team, followed by Brad Burckel (.341, 1 HR, 10 RBIs) and Payton Harden (.333, 10 RBIs).
The pitching staff sports an ERA of 4.14 with 130 strikeouts in 100 innings with opponents hitting .217.
Cowboys closer Cameron Foster was named the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week. Foster (0-0, 0.87 ERA, 4 Sv) recorded the second longest saves of his career in last week’s victories against Southern University and Louisiana Tech. He pitched six innings, three in each outing, and struck out 14 batters and allowed two hits.
